Kat Thoreson's Week 3 Reading Response
FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012
Wk 3 Reading: The Art of Possibility - Upward spiral
 |
| Toscanini: Read more about him here. |
This is some good ammunition that I’m going to add to my cookbook of resiliency and coping techniques. Although Toscanini, the great Italian maestro, was, more than likely pompous and mildly narcissistic, I love his line. The story goes as this: once, in a fit of anger, Toscanini fired one of his orchestral members. The member, on the way out the door, hollered at Toscanini, some profanity. Toscanini replied “It’s too late for an apology!” What a perfect response. The recipient of this response is dumbfounded. What can one respond?
As a teacher for the better part of twenty years, we learn to respond quickly to adolescent temperament while maintaining a level of respect and, yes, a hierarchical structure intact.
The text The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
gives us insight on flipping situations, or more aptly, directing the energy of a situation or event using insight and asking the question: what do we want to become of this situation? What do we want the outcome to be? And How can all participants, willing or unwilling, benefit?
I’ve given some thought to the idea of scarcity thinking. I have been a victim and conscious participant of this type of thinking, sometimes out of necessity and poverty, and sometimes out of survival. I’ve found a quote that I would like to share on the status of victimization:
This quote adequately addresses the conscious shift that the authors allude to in their book. It is the idea of thinking in scarcity and the downward spiral. If you feed thoughts into the downward spiral, it gains momentum and grows in size. This is a brutal combination.
I am reminded of the holocaust story of the small girl who, in the camps, found a small raspberry and carefully wrapped it and placed it in her pocket for the day. At the end of the day, she gave it to her friend. What if the most beautiful possession that we had, we instead gave it to our friend?
I would like to suggest and experiment with the idea of the upward spiral. Perhaps this reaches out like rays of sunshine, lighting those in its path. . . . .
My Response
Paula SanchezJuly 22, 2012 8:29 AM
Kat - Your statement, "...we learn to respond quickly to adolescent temperament while maintaining a level of respect, and yes, a heirarchical structure intact", echoes my thoughts exactly. As educators, we are bombarded with both love and hate actions and statements. We have to develop thick skins and enormous hearts to maintain the level of professionalism required. I love the Survivor Psalm. Do you know the author? This is something that I woud like to have on hand to pass on to students who are in difficult situations, something I encounter all too often in my school. Having no school counselors results in teachers often listening to the stories students
